Nuclear Proliferation Issues
| Date | Monday, June 15, 2009 |
| Location | US Capitol US HC-7 |
Security for a New Century hosted Dr. Morton H. Halperin, member of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States and Dr. Andrew K. Semmel, former deputy assistant secretary of state for nuclear nonproliferation to discuss nuclear proliferation issues in anticipation of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
The NPT, with 189 signatories, offers non-nuclear weapon states a guarantee that they will not be threatened by the five declared Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) – the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom – as well as the right to safely develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Some countries such as South Africa and Brazil have stepped back from efforts to develop nuclear weapons in the 40 years the NPT has been in effect. Despite these past successes, the non-proliferation regime faces enormous challenges. The treaty needs to be reaffirmed and strengthened to meet new threats to global security. Developments in recent years have put stress on the framework of the NPT and IAEA. The international community's efforts to monitor nuclear nations, Iran's persistent failure to report all of its facilities to the IAEA, A.Q. Kahn's clandestine dissemination of nuclear technology throughout the Middle East, North Korea's withdrawal from the NPT in 2003, and the rise of non-state actors each represent a unique challenge that will dictate the tenor of future NPT negotiations.
Bilateral disarmament discussions between the U.S. and Russia, who collectively possess 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons, must also be renewed and reinvigorated. The Bush Administration's support for India's nuclear program as well as the United States’ failure to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) has raised the stakes for American leadership in the upcoming round of talks.
Dr. Semmel and Dr. Halperin referred to a list of 10 specific actions put forward by the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) and endorsed by 30 policymakers representing both parties, and emphasized the importance of accomplishing these goals in 2010.
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